Having a good game, making a significant profit, and increasing their bankroll are goals for many blackjack enthusiasts, be it at a land casino or an online casino. However, recording the most blackjack hands won in a row is considered quite an impossible feat in general. Yet, it -apparently- only requires a higher level of professional gaming and luck.
Hard to believe, right?
Well, despite the tough & rough path towards a squeaky-clean winning run, a man showed us he could do it by winning over 40 blackjack hands in a row in one night!
Don Johnson, a professional blackjack player, beat the dealer at the Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City to win over $5.8 million in one night. Before that, he had won $5 million at the Borgata and $4 million at the Caesars playing blackjack. This truly makes our jaws drop in disbelief while running towards Slot Paradise’s nearest casino guide to spruce up our blackjack savvy.
Today’s casino news highlights how Don Johnson achieved the unsung record of the most blackjack hands won in a row.
The Record for Most Blackjack Hands Won in a Row
Don Johnson is the table game player with the most blackjack hands won in a row—over 40. This is one of the most significant blackjack records, and it happened in 2011. Statistically, the chance of landing this many consecutive wins in a row is 1 in 47,217,736393,700, so being that one person is quite an astonishing achievement!
Blackjack rules are simple: get either 21 or come closer to 21 than the dealer, without going over, to win the game. The luck aspect of the game is that you have no idea what cards the dealer will give you. The strategic part of it is what you do with the cards you do get. By the way, the unluckiest hand you can get is a 16.
To be fair, Don Johnson had luck and strategy in his gaming arsenal that night. He’d have been on a losing streak if that hadn’t been the case. The odds of winning a hand in the 21-card game are 42.4%, 8.5% chance of getting a tie, and a 49.1% chance of losing.
The best hand you can get in Blackjack is also somewhat intuitive: when a player gets a Blackjack (21) -consisting of an Ace and a 10 value card (be it a Ten, a Jack, a Queen or a King) – against any dealer’s non-10 or Ace upwards-facing card.
The chances of losing are greater than winning, which means losing 10 blackjack hands in a row is fairly commonplace. Experiencing losing streaks in blackjack is quite frequent; 7 hands in a row and 5 hands in a row are nothing out of the ordinary, and the percentage probability is 0.6% and 2.8%, respectively.
So, how did Don Johnson beat these odds? Let’s find out.
How It Went Down
According to Johnson, the first thing to note was that it was a high-stakes game. This table permitted bets up to $100,000. He then decided to go for it and place $100,000 per hand in that game. He started with an $800,000 balance, which was no issue, seeing he had won $5 million at the Borgata and $4 million at the Caesars a few months prior.
At the start of the game, he received two 8s, a total of 16. However, he decided to split his hand, and two more 8s were dealt to him. Hey, if that wasn’t luck, then what was? He then split again, increasing the pot bet to $400,000.
The dealer went bust after getting a 7 in addition to his 15 hole-card points, which totaled 22. As a result, Don Johnson won all 4 hands. According to him, the game that day was just business as usual. He signaled for more chips and continued playing like nothing extraordinary had happened. The game lasted for over 12 hours.
It ended when the casino didn’t fill up the chips tray to stop Don from upping his record for the most blackjack hands won in a row. According to the law, every casino is allowed to offer chips according to the amount of cash they have available, but Don’s winning that much meant they didn’t have any more left. So they couldn’t give him more chips. Chips went bust, too!
Don Johnson and His Success With Blackjack
Don Johnson was someone you would regard as just a blackjack aficionado. Before these feats, he was managing a racetrack at 30, a track which later became the Parx Casino. He also went on to manage other race tracks after that.
His love for high-stakes blackjack developed after he learned to improve his mathematical edge and be confident in it. Most of all, hanging out with folks who understood the game boosted his morale.
The Don Johnson Strategy
Don Johnson’s primary strategy is his excellent negotiation skills with casinos. He often negotiated favorable blackjack rules with these casinos. He considered their acceptance or refusal of the new rules as their choice, so no one can blame him for beating them at their own game.
Some of his go-to winning in blackjack strategies were: negotiating for a 20% rebate on losses, dealer standing on soft 17, and splitting/resplitting on aces. He also negotiated to double down on any two cards. Additionally, Don admitted to using a bit of card counting in the game, which, although frowned upon by many casinos, is not illegal.
All these gave him the confidence and ruthless gameplay he needed to win these enormous amounts. If you can master the mathematics behind blackjack casino games and negotiate for favorable terms, who knows, you might be on your way to winning huge rewards and having fun while doing so.
Long Story Short…
Don Johnson has shown us that achieving the impossible can be easy once you understand some fundamental truths. However, this doesn’t mean you will always win or need to have the most blackjack hands won in a row to win big. You just have to trust the process, keep playing, study more blackjack strategies, and have a blast!
Visit Slots Paradise Casino to enjoy our many blackjack playing formats; who knows, you could even be our next record-setter!
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